Paddle wheel boat



March 5, 1968 J. w. WOODALL 3,371,637

PADDLE WHEEL BOAT Filed June 6. 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 JA MES W Waaonu IN VEN TOR.

A TTORNEYS March 5, 1968 J. w. WOODALL IADDLE WHEEL BOAT 2 Sheets-Sheet2 Filed June 6, 1966 JAMES W Woamu. INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,371,637 PADDLE WHEEL BOAT James W.Woodall, Rte. 2, Box 235A-1, Angleton, Tex. 77515 Filed June 6, 1966,Ser. No. 555,416 Claims. (Cl. 114-58) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A boatis disclosed that is particularly adapted for use in shallow water. Theboat is propelled by a paddle wheel mounted at the back of the boat. Thepaddles on the paddle wheel do not extend below the bottom of the boatso the depth of water in which the boat can operate is limited only bythe amount of water the boat draws. To supply the paddle wheel withsufiicient water for it to operate efficiently, a water tunnel extendslongitudinally of the bottom of the boat to permit water to flow throughthe tunnel from the front of the boat to the paddle wheel. To furtherincrease the water flowing through the tunnel to the paddle wheel, thebottom of the boat is inclined upwardly from the outboard edge of thehull to the water tunnel. This causes the water displaced by the hull,as the boat travels through the water, to tend to flow into the watertunnel rather than away from the boat.

This invention relates to paddle wheel boats generally, and, inparticular, to paddle wheel boats for operation in relatively shallowwater.

There is a need for a boat to navigate shallow ponds, lakes, tidalflats, etc. With boats that operate in shallow water, however, if thepropelling means is located above the bottom of the boat, there is verylittle water for it to operate on. If it is located where it extendsbelow the bottom of the boat, it limits the depth of water in which theboat can operate. A paddle wheel is one method of propelling a boat thatcan function in very shallow water.

. If the paddle Wheel is located at the back of the boat,

however, its efficiency is hampered because the boat tends to divert thewater around it. If located in front of the boat, the water forcedbackward by the paddle wheel acts against the boat hull and reduces thepaddle wheels efficiency.

It is an object of this invention to provide a paddle wheel boat that ispropelled by a paddle wheel mounted at the back of the boat that issupplied with ample water for eflicient operation.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide a paddle wheelboat having a hull that is so designed that the water displaced by thehull will tend to flow laterally to the center of the hull where it canbe concentrated in a water tunnel and supplied to a stern mounted paddlewheel to maintain a suflicient supply of water to the paddle wheel forelficient operation of the same, even though the paddles of the paddlewheel do not extend below the hull in their lowermost position.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a boat having apaddle wheel mounted at the back which will supply the paddle wheel withsuflicient water for it to be operated efiiciently at high speeds eventhough each blade of the paddle wheel does not extend below the hull ofthe boat when in its lowermost position.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide a paddle wheel fora boat having its paddles so mounted and arranged that the paddle wheelcan be operated at high speeds efliciently.

These and other objects, advantages, and features of the invention willbe apparent to those skilled in the art from a consideration of tln'sspecification and attached drawings.

3,371,637 Patented Mar. 5, 1968 The invention will now be described inconnection with the attached drawings in which,

FIGURE 1 is a bottom plan view of the preferred embodiment of the paddlewheel boat of this invention;

FIGURE 2 is a vertical cross-sectional View taken along line 22 ofFIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary portion of FIGURE 2 on an enlarged scale;

FIGURE 4 is a side view partially in elevation and partially in sectionof the boat shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 5 is a side view on an enlarged scale of the preferred embodimentof the paddle wheel of this invention; and

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary top view on an enlarged scale of one of thepaddle wheel of FIGURE 5 and a portion of its drive mechanism.

Hull 10, as shown in FIGURES 1-4, has a generally fiat bottom 10a.Adjacent the rear or stern of the boat, the hull is provided with achamber 12, in which paddle wheel 13 is mounted.

The paddle wheel is provided with a plurality of blades 14, theembodiment shown having five. Preferably, the blades are long enough toextend substantially across the width of chamber 12, so the blades willengage the full stream of water flowing through the chamber. Also,preferably, the paddle wheel is mounted so the outer edge of each blade,when it is in its lowermost position, is even with or above the bottomof the hull. This allows the paddle wheel to provide thrust to the boat,even though the boat is aground.

To provide ample water to the paddle wheel, in accordance with thisinvention, water tunnel 11 extends longitudinally of the hull. Top side11a is generally horizontal and the tunnel is of substantially uniformdepth throughout its length, except where the bottom of the hull slopesupwardly to form the bow of the boat. The tunnel, preferably, is as wideas chamber 12 and is in line with it to allow water to flow from thefront of the boat to the chamber to supply the paddle Wheel with water.

In addition, bottom 10a of hull 10 is inclined upwardly from theoutboard edge thereof toward the water tunnel. In other words, as shownin FIGURES 2 and 3, portions 15 and 16 of the bottom of the hull, whichare located on opposite sides of the tunnel, are inclined upwardly fromthe intersection of these portions with sides 17 and 18 of the hull. Theangle of inclination of these portions is shown exaggerated in FIGURE 3.By inclining these portions in this manner, as the hull is moved throughthe water by the paddle wheel the water displaced by the hull will bedeflected laterally toward tunnel 11. Thus, the paddle wheel will notonly be supplied with the water that would normally pass through thetunnel to the paddle wheel chamber as the boat moves through the water,but also with at least a portion of the water that is displaced by therest of the hull. Thus, the paddle wheel receives an ample supply ofwater even though it is located at the stern and'does not extend belowthe bottom of the hull.

Preferably, the depth of water tunnel 11 is equal to or less than theamount of water the boat will draw, when loaded with its normalcomplement of people and gear. For example, in one embodiment of theinvention, the tunnel has a depth of approximately 3 inches, whereas theboat is designed to draw about 5 inches of water when loaded with anormal complement of people and gear.

Paddle wheel 13 is designed to be operated at high speeds, i.e., 200r.p.m. To rotate at such speed and maintain its efliciency, each blade14 is mounted on paddle support plates 13!; so it lies in plane that istangent to a circle having as its center the longitudinal axis aroundwhich the paddle wheel rotates. In one embodiment, the planes of theblades are tangent to a circle having a radius of about 1% inches andthe diameter of the paddle wheel is 21 inches. Further, the blades aremounted to lead their point of tangency. Mounted in this manner, theywill be close to vertical when they bite into the water, much like ahand operated paddle. In this way, the blades will not tend to slap thewater as they enter it, as would be the case if they extended radiallyfrom the longitudinal axis of the paddle Wheel. Also, as the blades moveto their lowermost position, they are inclined upwardly in a directiontoward which the boat is moving giving them more of a tendency to carrywater up with them. Since they are not extending very far into thewater, however, and since they are rotating at relatively high speed,any water carried with the blades will be thrown off quickly. Thus,there will be little tendency for this carried water to drag down theblades.

With this type paddle wheel, five blades have been found to be the mostefficient number. The efficiency of the wheel drops off rapidly afterthe number of blades is increased to eight. The same occurs, when thenumber is reduced to three.

As shown in FIGURE 4, the top of chamber 12 is enclosed to protect theoccupants from water splashed by the paddle wheel. Rudder 19 is mountedto engage the water flowing from the paddle wheel to steer the boat. Therudder, like the paddle wheel does not extend below the bottom of thehull. As shown in FIGURE 6, the paddle wheel is mounted in chamber 12with its center shaft 13a etxending through the side Walls thereof.Suitable bearings 21 rotatably support the shaft. On one end, sheaves 22are mounted and driven by V-belts 20. The V-belts are driven by anengine (not shown).

From the foregoing, it will be seen that this invention is one welladapted to attain all of the ends and objects hereina-bove set forth,together with other advantages which are obvious and which are inherentto the apparatus and structure.

It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are ofutility and may be employed without reference to other features andsubcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of theclaims.

As many possible embodiments may be made of the invention withoutdeparting from the scope thereof, it is to be understood that all matterherein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to beinterpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

The invention having been described, what is claimed 1. A paddle wheelboat comprising, a hull having a generally fiat bottom with anopen-ended longitudinally extending water tunnel therein, having sidesthat extend upwardly from and intersect the bottom at an angle theretosaid hull bottom, on each side of the tunnel, being inclined upwardlyfrom the outboard edge of the hull bottom laterally to the tunnel tocause at least a portion of the water, displaced by the hull as it movestherethrough, to flow laterally into the tunnel, said tunnel havingsection of increased depth at its rear end to provide an enlargedchamber, a paddle wheel having a plurality of paddles for sequentiallyengaging the water, means rotatably mounting the paddle wheel in saidchamber So the paddles engage the water passing through the tunnel intothe chamber, and means for rotating the paddle wheel to engage the waterpassing into the chamber from the tunnel to move the boat through thewater.

2. The paddle wheel boat of claim 1 in which the lower edges of thepaddles are even with or above the bottom of the tunnel when the paddlesare in their lowermost position.

3. The paddle wheel boat of claim 2 in which each paddle lies in a planethat is tangent to a common circle which has the axis of rotation of thepaddle wheel as its center, each paddle being mounted to beperpendicular to the water before the paddle reaches its lowermostposition in the water and inclined upwardly in the direction of travelof the boat when the paddle is in its lowermost position.

4. The boat of claim 3 in which the tunnel is generally rectangular invertical cross-section with a generally horizontal top surface, saidtunnel further having a depth equal to or less than the amount of waterthe boat draws when carrying its normal complement of persons and gear.

5. The boat of claim 3 having means to rotate said paddle wheel abover.p.m.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 126,701 5/1872 Hilgerd 53 FOREIGNPATENTS 896,775 11/ 1953 Germany.

ANDREW H. FARRELL, Primary Examiner.

MILTON BUCHLER, Examiner.

